The titles used of Jesus each express some central truth about His character, Paul uses 4 titles here and makes reference to one other: The 4 are:
Let's look at these titles in turn and discover some of the rich truths that are contained in them.
We saw in the last study how the gospel fulfills the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah, the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is the Messiah, and brings out fully that the Messiah is no ordinary man but is the very Son of God. This idea though present in the OT (see Ps.2:7-9; Prov.30:4) was nevertheless a cause of great offence to the religious Jews; but for the true disciples of Jesus it came as a wonderful revelation of who Jesus really was - see Peter's great confession, "You are the Christ the Son of the Living God" (Mt.16:16ff). What was harder for the disciples to accept was Jesus' claim that as the Messiah he was to suffer many things and be killed at the hands of men (Matt.16:21ff), and of course the full implications of His death and its significance for the redemption of mankind was not fully understood by them until after the resurrection (see Jesus discussion with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and in the upper room, Luke 24:18-27; 44-49).
The fact that Jesus is the Son of God is affirmed many times throughout the gospels:
Mk.1:11 - At His baptism.
The Jews offended by this title:
Jn.10:30-36 - They accused Him of blasphemy and took up stones to stone Him for making this claim.
Belief in Jesus as the Son of God is essential to a correct doctrinal understanding of Jesus' character. Such belief is a part of the salvation process, note John's assertion that he wrote his gospel that "you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (20:31).
Look at these scriptures that highlight both the deity and Lordship of Jesus:
It is important to note Jesus' own attitude to this title, He had asked the Jews, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?" and quoting Psalm 110 to them He further asked, "David himself calls Him Lord; how is He then His Son?" The religious leaders had no answer to this question, Jesus was in effect asking how the Messiah could be both man and God, the answer to that question is only realised by those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, something that the religious leaders of Israel could not accept. Jesus here was not denying that He was the Son of David but pointing out that the title had a greater depth of meaning than any could have imagined - yes He is the Son of David, but He is also God, and God become man, and that as a man He would give His life to redeem men from the curse of sin.
The Importance of the Resurrection
Son of David (in v.3, the seed of David). 1. The Son of God
Mk.9:7 - At His transfiguration.
Mt.4:3 - Satan tempted Him concerning it, "if you are the Son of God".
Mk.3:11, 5:7 - Demons recognised Him as.
Jn.6:69 - His disciples recognised Him as.
Rom.1:4 - The resurrection is a powerful testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.
Jn.19:7 - They wanted Him put to death because He made Himself the Son of God.
Such belief also serves as a measure of true and false doctrine, nearly every heresy attacks Jesus on this very issue and attempts to make Him something less than the Son of God, John again warns of this very point:
Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either, he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
1Jn.2:22,23
Using this criteria it is easy to spot the heresy of such cults as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons and the error of false religions who all deny this essential doctrine of Jesus' sonship. Wherever we find
a belittling of this doctrine we can be sure that the spirit of the antichrist is at work.2. Jesus
The name Jesus was given by the angel to Mary (Matt.1:21), it simply means 'Saviour', and as the angel says it specifically means the Saviour from sins. A very simple title but with a very profound meaning. Lets never forget why Jesus came, He didn't come to change society, not even to fight the cause of the poor and helpless, He is not a saviour from political oppression, He is the one and only saviour from sin and its awful consequences. This is the heart of the gospel, a gospel that leaves out sin is no gospel at all. Paul has much to say about sin later in Romans, for now lets remember the reason for Jesus' coming to the earth and the price He had to pay to secure that salvation for us all.3. Christ
We have already said much about the Messiahship of Jesus, we have seen how He fulfills the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament and how closely it is linked with the title Son of God. Messiah and Christ both mean "the anointed", the clearest identification of Jesus with the Messiah is in Luke 4:18 where Jesus quoting from Isaiah 61 announces "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me.....".
It is important to understand that the Jewish expectation of the Messiah was of a king born from the line of David (the son of David) who would be a political figure and deliver them from their enemies, establishing the kingdom of Israel for ever. Prophecies such as Isaiah 9 and 11 were considered to point to such an eventuality. Jesus resisted any attempt to make him such a (worldly) king (Jn.6:15), because as He pointed out to Pilate, His "kingdom is not of this world". The truth is that as the Messiah, Jesus was to suffer and die for the sins of the world and in so doing open the way for all to enter His (heavenly) kingdom.4. Lord
"Jesus is Lord" was one of the earliest confessions of faith in Jesus (Rom.10:9; 1Cor.12:3) and is an acknowledgment of the high and exalted position that Jesus occupies. It equates Him with deity, recognising that He is God and is to be worshipped as God.
The word 'Lord' when used of Jesus in the New Testament translates the Greek word 'kurios' which was used in place of the Hebrew word for God, 'YHWH'. Such use shows the high place that was ascribed to Jesus by the early church, He is surely "Lord of all".
Jn.20:28 - Thomas's confession which Jesus did not deny.
Titus 2:13
Rom.10:9
Phil.2:11
1Cor.2:8
Acts 10:385. The Son of David
As was noted above the Jews expected the Messiah to be born from the line of David, the scriptural basis for such is found in 2 Samuel 7, here God enters into a covenant with David and promises him an heir who is to be king of an eternal kingdom (vv.12-16). That the New Testament writers accepted Jesus as this king is clear from the genealogies of Matthew and Luke who are both highlighting the human descent of Jesus through the line of David.
Paul brings together the humanity and deity of Jesus in verses 3,4 where he states that Jesus was "born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead". Both aspects are equally important - if Jesus did not live as a man He could not have won salvation as the representative of man, if Jesus had not risen from the dead His life and ministry have no real meaning and He is found to be a cheat and a liar. All that we believe as followers of Jesus hinges on these very points, as Paul says, "if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty" (2Cor.15:12-19). The resurrection proves that Jesus is exactly who He claimed, the sinless Son of God who came to earth to suffer and die for the sins of the world, this is a vital part of the gospel, if it is not true then our faith is in vain.
Further study
It is a fundamental tenet of Biblical truth that Jesus lived life fully as a man while being fully God at the same time. Why is the doctrine that God became man so essential to our understanding of salvation?
Read:
Jn.3:16,17.
1Jn.3:8; Heb.2:14.
Mk.10:45; 1Tim.2:5,6.
1Pet.1:19-21.
2Cor.5:21.
Heb.2:17,18.
Phil.2:5-11.